The Turkish Libyan Friendship Center for Physical Therapy Was Inaugurated in Misurata, Libya

Built by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) in Misurata, Libya, the Turkish-Libyan Friendship Center for Physical Therapy was put into service with a ceremony.

The inauguration ceremony of the center was attended by Ali Al-Zinati, Minister of Health of Libya; Gürkan Gürmeriçliler, Turkey’s Consul General to Misurata; Gıyaseddin Karatepe, TİKA’s Libya Coordinator; Mahmoud Al-Soqotri, Mayor of Misurata; and the administrators and healthcare professionals of the hospital.

At the ceremony, which began with the national anthems of Libya and Turkey, speakers thanked TİKA, the people of Turkey, and especially President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

TİKA’s Coordinator Karatepe reminded that the physical therapy center was built upon the instructions of President Erdoğan after his visit to Libya in 2011.

In his statement, Consul General Gürmeriçliler said, “The newly-formed Government of National Unity started to provide the services that our Libyan brothers and sisters have been missing for a long time. In order to contribute to this effort, we will continue to support our Libyan brothers and sisters as much as we can.” Noting that the hospital was advanced in terms of its equipment and capacity, Gürmeriçliler made the following remarks based on his personal experience with physiotherapy: “As a result of some experiences that my family had with physiotherapy, I had the chance to observe how this service is provided in the leading countries in Europe and in the world in this field. This is a first-class hospital with high-quality equipment. I can see that it provides high-quality services that are well organized by the director. As the Republic of Turkey, we are proud to make this happen.”

Dr. Ramazan Citlavi, a physical therapy specialist working in the center, said he was very happy that Misurata had such a physical therapy center. Citlavi said, “We would like to thank the government of Turkey for building this center, because we need these services very much. This center is important in many ways. We have been facing some problems because of the war for nearly 10 years. Young people who lost their limbs in the war and have health problems need extensive treatment, equipment, and support. That’s why I am truly happy to be here.”

Fatima Lifseyv, an engineer and medical equipment specialist working in the hospital, stated that a team of Turkish engineers and specialists trained them when the center was built. She said, “All the devices are new and modern. All the necessary equipment such as an MRI scanner, an ultrasound scanner, and physical therapy equipment is available. Most of the devices sent by the people of Turkey were not available in Libya.”

The Turkish-Libyan Friendship Center for Physical Therapy has an indoor area of 2,400 sq. meters and an outdoor area of 5,000 sq. meters. The facility has three units: a women’s unit, a men’s unit, and an emergency orthopedics unit. With its 38 treatment units and 2 treatment pools, the center is able to provide treatment and care to 6,000 patients a month. The opening of the Turkish-Libyan Friendship Center for Physical Therapy had been postponed due to internal conflicts and political instability in Libya. The Center was put into service after it was transferred to the Ministry of Health of Libya with the transfer protocol signed between TİKA and the Ministries of Health of Turkey and Libya on January 21, 2020.